Video shows inmate jumping off toilet, hanging upside down, injuring self
TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) – An escape suspect is in serious condition after injuring himself while in custody at the Tippecanoe County Jail.
Marcus Bramlett, 25, was being held in a padded cell at the Tippecanoe County Jail after his arrest Saturday following a 24-hour crime spree. He was placed in the cell because there were signs he tried to hurt himself before his arrest over the weekend.
When Bramlett went into the connecting restroom Monday, he did something that landed him in the hospital. Caught on jail video, Bramlett can be seen jumping off of the toilet, on top of the door. That’s when he uses pipes to hang upside down from the ceiling. Then seconds later, he falls. Correctional officers and nurses responded within nine seconds.
“Very bad bruising and swelling of the cranium,” Sheriff Barry Richard said. “And he’s going to have a severe headache for quite some time, I believe.”
Richard said it’s standard procedure to let inmates use the restroom unsupervised in the padded cells.
“In a typical situation, we felt very comfortable with the procedures and what’s there and allowed. Obviously, with this particular individual, more secured measurements are going to be taking place with his supervision,” Richard said.
When Bramlett returns, Richard said an officer will supervise his every move outside of the padded cell.
“It won’t be a matter of just opening a door to that area for him to utilize,” Richard said. “A corrections officer will be in that same area.”
Bramlett will also be under the close watch of mental health professionals and medical staff.
“Between our mental health specialist and also our nursing staff, we will definitely monitor his progress and well-being and be very concerned about keeping that in place and doing what we can,” Richard said.
Richard said he’s not sure when Bramlett will return to the jail.
Prosecutors in Tippecanoe County have until 2 p.m. Thursday to file charges in the case stemming from Saturday.
Additionally, charges have been filed against Bramlett in Warren County.
The charges against the 25-year-old include two counts of burglary, armed robbery, auto theft, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. He has also been charged with being a habitual offender.
According to court documents, Bramlett knocked on the door at a home in the eastern part of the county Friday evening. He told a woman he was having car troubles and asked to use her phone. When she went to hand him the phone, Bramlett pulled out a rifle and walked into her home. He told her he would kill her if she didn’t do what he said. He told her he had “knocked out” a policeman, stole a police car and had been shot by the police.
While pointing the rifle at the woman, Bramlett demanded money and car keys. Bramlett told the woman he was leaving to go to Lafayette and he had friends who lived down the road. He said if she tried to contact the police, she would be killed. Bramlett then took the woman’s cellphone and handsets from her landline telephones and left in her car.
The woman waited until daylight to walk to her brother’s residence to report the incident.
The woman’s car was located in Lafayette. It had been involved in a crash on Saturday in the early morning hours and the driver had fled the scene.
The stolen squad car was located at a property nearby, still running and the handcuffs and shackles were located on the floor. The GPS card had been removed from the car’s laptop.
Investigators also discovered that a pole barn in the area had a window broken out. It appeared that someone had tried to start a motorcycle inside the barn. The owner of the barn found underwear and a traffic vest belonging to the sheriff’s office on the porch.